Jhette Lafond-Favieres and Dakota Munoz | On 26, Oct 2016

This piece reflects the beliefs of its authors. It does not represent the views of The Commentator as a whole, nor does it represent the opinion of Hudson Catholic Regional High School.

Recently there has been an announcement of a new change in the uniform code and some students aren’t exactly happy about it. This change in uniform entails that we are not allowed to wear any headbands that are bright, neon, or “non-neutral” colors.

On top of the same old black and yellow skirts for girls and khaki pants for boys, button ups, and cardigans we’re required to wear, this is yet another restriction that many students are up in arms about.

Some may be wondering why newest change came about in the first place. How is a neon color headband affecting anyone? In a statement from our Dean of Students, Mr. Matthews, on what caused him to implement this headband rule, school image was given as the motivating factor.

“We have a uniform and the uniform is created to give our students an identity that is in line with our school image,” Mr. Matthews said. “The problem was that students were wearing lime green fluorescent headbands, pink fluorescent headbands, fluorescent orange… It was garish, it was distracting, it actually didn’t even remotely match the uniform, and it is not the image we want to project.”

Some students, however, cite self-expression as a reason why the headbands should stay.

“It is what it is, we all have to look the same, but as far as he whole headband rule goes, I disagree with it,” senior Charlee Gonzalez said. “I feel like we already have a uniform in place, so to add another thing is quite absurd. Also, we don’t have a lot of self-expression in this school, so if girls decide to wear a colored headband or a headband of their choice, I think it should be okay.”

Although it is understandable where the administration is coming from, we feel it is unnecessary to put a restriction on something as minor as a colored headband. We tend to agree with Ms. Gonzalez’s statements above: self-expression is what is at stake here.